US Immigration News

US Diversity Visa Lottery registration starts for FY 2008

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 13:17:00 +0100

The U.S. Department of State has started accepting entries for the DV-2008 Program. Entries can be submited only electronically till noon (EST) on December 3, 2006. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter.

Eligibility to apply for this Program is determined by a person's place of birth not citizenship or residence. Persons born in any one of the following 19 countries cannot participate in the Program for 2008. The excluded countries are: the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, and Vietnam.

Persons born in Northern Ireland, Hong Kong S.A.R., Macau S.A.R. and Taiwan are eligible to enter.

If you were born in an ineligible country, but your spouse was not, you can claim your spouse's country of birth instead of your own, provided you and your spouse will immigrate to the United States together. Both you and your spouse can submit individual entries. If you were born in an ineligible country where neither of your parent was born or residing at the time of your birth, you may be able to claim one of their countries of birth.

To enter the lottery, you must meet either the education or work experience requirement of the DV program. You must have either a high school education or its equivalent, defined as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; OR two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience to perform. The U.S. Department of Labor's O*Net OnLine database will be used to determine qualifying work experience.

H-1B advanced degree numbers still available

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 13:48:00 +0100

As most people are aware, the H-1B quota for standard cap cases was reached on May 26, 2006. Advanced degree H-1B quota is still available. But that is not to say that it will not run out soon. All people eligible should take quick action so as to not miss the quota for Fiscal 2007.

Delay by USCIS in Issuing Receipt Notices in April 2006

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 13:34:00 +0100

Due to the heavy volume of cases received in April, the USCIS has reported that there has been a delay in issuing receipt notices in April. They have assured that it will not affect cases filed by way of premium processing.

H-1B cap for Fiscal 2007 reached!

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:08:00 +0100

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on June 1, 2006 that it had received sufficient number of H-1B petitions as of May 26, 2006 to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2007 (FY 2007). Affected H-1B petitions received on that date will be subject to a “random selection process”. H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2007 annual cap that are received by USCIS after May 26, 2006 will be returned. This information does NOT impact advanced degree cases, for which cap numbers are still available.This is the earliest that the H-1B quota has ever been reached: less than two months after the agency started accepting petitions and more than four months before the fiscal year even begins. USCIS had last updated its count on May 25, 2006.

Cap Procedures : In accordance with the procedures announced in the Federal Register at 70 FR 23775 (May 5, 2005) USCIS has implemented the following process for handling H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2007 cap:
• USCIS closely monitored FY 2007 H-1B filings and used projections to determine the date on which it received the number of petitions necessary to reach the Congressionally mandated cap.
• USCIS determined that the Congressionally mandated cap had been exceeded on May 26, 2006,the "final receipt date."
• USCIS will subject H-1B petitions received on the "final receipt date" to a computer-generated random selection process. This process will enable USCIS to apply the remaining number of available H-1B visas to petitions received on that day.
• Cap subject H-1B petitions that are not randomly selected in the process described above will be rejected and returned along with the filing fee(s).
• Petitioners may re-submit the petitions when H-1B visas become available for FY 2008.
• The earliest date for which a petitioner may file a petition requesting FY 2008 H-1B employment with an employment start date of October 1, 2007, is April 1, 2007.

Current H-1B Workers : Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers do not count towards the H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:
• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States.
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers.
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers.
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

Cap-Exempt Petitions : As directed by the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of aliens with U.S.-earned masters' or higher degrees will be exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas. For FY 2007, USCIS has received approximately 5,830 exempt petitions.

USCIS also notes that petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the aliens will be employed at institutions of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entities, or at nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations. Thus, petitions for these exempt H-1B categories may be filed for work dates starting in FY 2006 or 2007.

Conclusion:
Even though the cap announcement was expected, it did come as a surprise, that it was met as early as May 26, 2006. In prior releases of H-1B cap figures, there was no indication that the cap would be met by end of May. Now many employers will have to wait till April 1, 2007 to file H-1B cap petitions with a start date of October 1, 2007.

Latest H-1B cap figures - 3

Fri, 26 May 2006 11:47:00 +0100

As of May 19, 2006 the USCIS has received a total of 42,876 standard H-1B cap-subject cases and 5,358 advanced degree cases. If the current pace continues, the standard H1B cap is likely to be met in early June 2006. The advanced degree cap will likely be met in September or October 2006.

Future Premium Processing Eligibility for Certain I-140s, I-765s and I-539s

Fri, 26 May 2006 11:36:00 +0100

By a notice effective May 23, 2006, the, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has expanded the types of cases that will be eligible for premium processing service.The following forms have been designated as eligible for Premium Processing Service: Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker), Form I-539 (Application to Extend/Change Status), and Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization). Under Premium Processing Service the USCIS guarantees that it will process designated petitions and applications, and classifications within these petitions and applications that USCIS makes available for the service, within 15 calendar days for an additional processing fee of $1,000. USCIS will specify the dates on which the availability of Premium Processing Service for these designations begins and ends, and any other applicable conditions of availability for premium processing, via the USCIS Web site at http://www.uscis.gov/. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers expedited processing of certain employment-based petitions and applications (hereinafter collectively referred to as ``Forms'') through its Premium Processing Service. For an additional processing fee of $1,000, Premium Processing Service guarantees that USCIS will process designated Forms within 15 calendar days of receiving a Request for Premium Processing Service, Form I-907. The USCIS could reach a decision within that timeframe or they could issue a Request for Evidence (RFE). If an RFE is issued, the USCIS has 15 additional days after receipt of the RFE response to make a decision.

The categories of petitions that will be eligible for premium processing are: (1) the following categories of I-140s: EB-1, EB-2 (except NIW), and EB-3; (2) the following categories of I-765s: EB-1 to EB-5 with pending I-485s; and (3) the following categories of I-539s: B-1, J-1, J-2, E-1, E-2, H-4, L-2, O-3, P-4, R-2, and TD. Certain rules apply for concurrent filing of the above forms. USCIS anticipates that this Notice will increase the number of requests for Premium Processing Service using Form I-907. But by extending Premium Processing Service to more classifications, it will enable USCIS to improve its services to its business customers (i.e. employers who are sponsoring foreign-born workers). The ability to use premium processing for more types of cases will allow time sensitive cases to be adjudicated in time and avoid difficult situations. Even with the additional cost of $1,000, there will be many situations, where the benefit will far outweigh the cost.

Latest H-1B cap figures - 2

Wed, 24 May 2006 13:06:00 +0100

USCIS has updated its website with the figures for H-1B usage for fiscal year 2007 as of May 12, 2006.Since it began accepting applications on April 1,USCIS has received a total of 34,808 applications of which 6,033 are approved. This represents an average of approximately 1290 filings per day between the last count, on April 28, 2006, and the current count. In this same period, USCIS has approved 1,392 H-1B Advanced Degree beneficiaries with 3,246 applications pending, for a total of 4,638 applications either granted or pending. The respective caps are 58,200 for H-1B visas (with an additional 6,800 set aside for the H-1B1 program until October 1, 2006) and 20,000 for H-1B Advanced Degree visas. At this filing rate, it is possible that the standard H1B cap could be met in June 2006, and the advanced degree cap could be met in September 2006. With schools finishing and new graduates entering the work scene, it is likely that there will be a big increase in H-1B filings. All those eligible should file immediately to avoid missing the cap and then forced to wait till October 1, 2007 to start working in the US in the H-1B capacity.

Latest H-1B cap figures - 1

Mon, 08 May 2006 12:03:00 +0100

Since it began accepting applications on April 1, 2006, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved 3,907 H-1B beneficiaries with an additional 8,806 applications pending. This is as of April 24, 2006.In that same period, USCIS approved 898 H-1B Advanced Degree beneficiaries wth 1,460 applications pending. The respective caps are 58,200 for H-1B visas (with an additional 6,800 set aside under Free Trade Agreements with Chile and Singapore) and 20,000 for H-1B Advanced Degree visas. USCIS estimates the number of beneficiary applications needed to reach the cap, with an allowance for denials and revocations, at 61,000 for H-1Bs and 21,000 for H-1B Advanced Degrees.

Tier 1 Visa Points Calculator

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 18:40:00 +0100

Tier 1 Visa Points Calculator
Complete this quick online assessment to find out if you qualify for the UK Tier 1 Visa.

Immigration Opportunities for Skilled Migrants

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 14:50:00 +0100

Skilled Independent Migration has become increasingly popular with a number of countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Essentially, Skilled Independent Migration allows individuals with strong experience and/or education to migrate to another country with the right to work WITHOUT first needing to find an employer to sponsor a work permit.Skilled Independent Migration has become increasingly popular with a number of countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Essentially, Skilled Independent Migration allows individuals with strong experience and/or education to migrate to another country with the right to work WITHOUT first needing to find an employer to sponsor a work permit. This gets round the problems faced by people seeing great jobs that they cannot apply for because the employer is unwilling to sponsor their work permit.

The purpose of allowing people to enter the country with the right to work already gained is to encourage the entry of people with exactly the skills that the country needs. These visas tend to be more flexible for the individual as they do not tie the person to only one company.

United Kingdom
The Tier 1 Visa (formerly the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme or HSMP) is a points based system. Applicants are awarded points for their qualifications, age, experience and previous earnings and must be awarded a minimum of 75 points to qualify. The Tier 1 Visa allows for an initial 2-year period, with a further three year extension to be applied for at the end of the first year. This scheme has proved very popular since its creation. You can use an online points calculator to get an idea as to whether you are likely to qualify, such as the UK Tier 1 Visa Points Calculator

Canada
The Federal Skilled Worker Visa is again a points based system, but rather more complex than the UK version, with additional points being available in a wider range of areas. These can include points for having a relative in Canada, for having a job offer, for French and English language skills and more. This Visa takes a considerable time to be approved presently, but many feel that the opportunities available in Canada make the wait more than worthwhile. Again, there are online points calculators available to find out if you qualify, such as the Canada Skilled Worker Visa Points Calculator

Australia
Skilled Workers wishing to migrate to Australia face two main options - the full Skilled Worker Visa and the Skilled Independent Regional Visa. As its name suggests, the Regional Visa allows you to work in a specific region of Australia and is designed to encourage development of these areas specifically. The full Skilled Worker Visa allows you to work anywhere in Australia but requires you to gain a higher level of points. Again, these visas are more complex than the UK version.

New Zealand
New Zealand is working hard to encourage skilled migrants to move there and have lowered the pass mark from 195 points in 2004 to its current level of 100 points. As with Canada, having a close relative in New Zealand will gain you extra points and previous work experience gained in New Zealand can also gain you extra points.

For individuals with good education and/or experience, there is a strong initiative in these countries to try and encourage you to bring your skills and experience to their economies, representing increasing options available for individuals to experience different cultures and career opportunities.